
Bonnie Docherty
Associate Director, Armed Conflict and Civilian Protection
Lecturer on Law
Bonnie Docherty is Associate Director of Armed Conflict and Civilian Protection and a Lecturer on Law at the International Human Rights Clinic. She founded and directs the Clinic’s Armed Conflict and Civilian Protection Initiative. She is also a Senior Researcher in the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch. Docherty specializes in disarmament and international humanitarian law, particularly as they relate to civilian protection during armed conflict.
Docherty has worked in the field of humanitarian disarmament since 2001 as lawyer, field researcher, and scholar. She played a key role in the negotiations of the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, successfully advocating for specific provisions and providing legal advice to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the civil society coalition that received the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. Her many publications on fully autonomous weapons, or “killer robots,” have shaped civil society arguments for a preemptive ban on weapons that would select and engage targets without meaningful human control. She has been a global leader in efforts to strengthen international law on incendiary weapons and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.
Docherty has also applied a humanitarian approach to her extensive work against cluster munitions. Her on-site investigations of cluster munition use in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Georgia helped galvanize international opposition to the weapon. She participated in the negotiations of the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions and has promoted strong implementation of the convention since its adoption.
Docherty has done field investigations and legal research on other issues related to the protection of civilians in armed conflict more broadly. For example, she documented the civilian harm associated with conflicts in Ethiopia, Gaza, Israel, Libya, Nepal, and Ukraine.
Docherty has additional expertise in the field of human rights and the environment. She has examined the effects of mining on disadvantaged or indigenous communities in British Columbia, Guyana, and South Africa, and has written about the problem of climate change migration.
Docherty received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her A.B. from Harvard University. Docherty worked full-time at Human Rights Watch before joining the Clinic in 2005. Prior to law school, she spent three years as a journalist.
Related Work
Courses
Armed Conflict and Humanitarian Protection
Combating the Human Costs of Armed Conflict
Human Rights and the Environment
The Promises and Challenges of Disarmament
Chapters and Articles
“A ‘Light for All Humanity’: The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the Progress of Humanitarian Disarmament”
Global Change, Peace & Security (May 2018)
“Climate Change Migration and Social Innovation”
Harvard College Review of Environment and Society (May 2014)
“Ending Civilian Suffering: The Purpose, Provisions, and Promise of Humanitarian Disarmament Law”
15 Austrian Review of International and European Law 7 (2013)
“Human Rights and Climate Change Adaptation at the International Level”
Yale Journal of International Law, online symposium (June 2012) Co-author: Tyler Giannini
Chapters on Articles 2, 6, 7, and 8 in The Convention on Cluster Munitions: A Commentary
(Gro Nystuen and Stuart Casey-Maslen eds., Oxford University Press, 2010)
“Breaking New Ground: The Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Evolution of International Humanitarian Law”
33 Human Rights Quarterly 934 (2009)
“Confronting a Rising Tide: A Proposal for a Convention on Climate Change Refugees”
33 Harvard Environmental Law Review 349 (2009) Co-author: Tyler Giannini
Selected Reports
An Overdue Review: Addressing Incendiary Weapons in the Contemporary Context
(Joint paper: International Human Rights Clinic, Human Rights Watch, November 2017)
Operating Under Fire: Explosive Weapons on Health Care in the East of Ukraine
(International Human Rights Clinic, PAX, May 2017)
Making the Case: The Dangers of Killer Robots and the Need for a Preemptive Ban
(Joint report: International Human Rights Clinic, Human Rights Watch, December 2016)
The Cost of Gold
(International Human Rights Clinic, October 2016)
Tackling Tough Calls: Lessons from Recent Conflicts on Hostile Intent and Civilian Protection
(International Human Rights Clinic, March 2016)
Staying Strong: Key Components and Positive Precedent for Convention on Cluster Munitions Legislation
(Joint report: International Human Rights Clinic, Human Rights Watch, September 2014)
Shaking the Foundations: the Human Rights Implications of Killer Robots
(Joint report: International Human Rights Clinic, Human Rights Watch, May 2014)
Assistance Overdue: Ongoing Needs of Civilian Victims of Armed Conflict in Nepal
(Joint report: International Human Rights Clinic, Center for Civilians in Conflict, September 2013)
Losing Humanity: The Case against Killer Robots
(Joint publication: International Human Rights Clinic, Human Rights Watch, 2012)
Explosive Situation: Qaddafi’s Abandoned Weapons and the Threat to Libya’s Civilians
(Joint publication: International Human Rights Clinic, Centers for Civilians in Conflict, and Center for American Progress, 2012) Co-authors: Nicolette Boehland, Anna Crowe, and Rebecca Richards
Meeting the Challenge: Protecting Civilians through the Convention on Cluster Munitions
(Human Rights Watch, 2010)
Bearing the Burden: The Effects of Mining on First Nations in British Columbia
(International Human Rights Clinic, 2010) Co-authors: Susannah Knox, Lauren Pappone, and Anne Siders
Opinion Pieces and Media Coverage
“Losing Control: The Dangers of Killer Robots”
(The Conversation, 6/16/16)
“Arms Control Groups Urge Human Control of Robot Weaponry”
(The New York Times, 4/11/16)
“Fighting for Disarmament”
(Harvard Gazette, 1/2/16)
“Killer Robots and the Laws of Man: Who’s to Blame for Mission Malfunction?”
(The Mark News, 5/28/15)
“The Human Rights Implications of Killer Robots”
(JURIST, 6/9/14)
“Taking on ‘Killer Robots’”
(Just Security, 5/23/14)
“The Trouble with Killer Robots”
(Foreign Policy, 11/19/12)
“White Phosphorous: The New Napalm?”
(Salon, 6/8/12) Co-author: Steve Goose
“Viewing Mining’s Effects on First Nations through the Lens of Aboriginal Rights”
(West Coast Environmental Law, 10/31/11)
“Cluster Munitions Bill Is a Law of Loopholes”
(The National Times, Australia, 8/17/11)
“Cluster Munitions Treaty—A Milestone, but a Long Way to Go”
(The Great Debate UK, 8/1/10)
“Make No Exceptions to Ban on Cluster Munitions”
(The Great Debate UK, 6/24/09)
“Russian Attacks in Georgia Show Need for Convention on Cluster Munitions”
(JURIST, 8/19/08)
“Cluster Munitions Convention Is an International Humanitarian Law Milestone”
(JURIST, 6/2/08)
“US Pressure Felt at Dublin Cluster Munitions Conference”
(JURIST, 5/28/08)
Selected Blog Posts
“Hostile Intent and Civilian Protection: Lessons from Recent Conflicts”
(Just Security, 3/10/16)
“New Perspectives on an Old Conflict”
(Human Rights Program blog, 6/20/13)
“Reflections on a Partnership: Advancing Assistance for Civilian Victims of War”
(Human Rights Program blog, 2/16/12)
“Inside the Classroom: Using Literature and History to Introduce Disarmament Law”
(Human Rights Program blog, 9/30/11)